


asunder

by sora_san89



Category: Dororo (Anime 2019)
Genre: Dororo Uses Female Pronouns In This Fic, Fluff, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Light Angst, POV Third Person Limited, Platonic Relationships, Self-Indulgent, Short One Shot, as usual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-10 15:42:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19908145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sora_san89/pseuds/sora_san89
Summary: i'm so used to playing pretend at goodbyes,but i ended up crying when our hands bid farewell,our deep-red sadness growsdarker and darker, and then night arrives.[ set in Episode 24 ][ or, what if dororo and hyakkimaru meet up at least once for the last time? ]





	asunder

**Author's Note:**

> hello!
> 
> for some reason i cant finish writing my 1k worded dororo epilogue fic but this idea took hold and yknow, i finished in almost 24 hours hahaha i suck ;;; gotta set my priorities right orz
> 
> anyways, im bacck !!! with another dororo fic !!! even tho i dont really contribute much to this fandom (because all the stuff i write is self-indulgent as hell), i still keep writing because i really love dororo and i want to keep writing even if it isnt the best out there.
> 
> please note that this might be ooc, and it features female dororo using female pronouns so if it is not ur cup of tea, i advise to not read this. no beta bc im posting this at work, pls excuse any spelling/grammar mistakes ;;; 
> 
> i hope you enjoy reading : )

_ Was it alright... for their journey to end like this? _   
  
Dororo understands, she truly does.    
  
Aniki has to walk his own path. He has to learn to be human, and she... she can't teach him that. He has to come up with his own answers. He must carve a new path of his own, with the body and resolve he's regained.   
  
He has to leave. He has to find himself.   
  
_ But, was it alright to just end it this way? _   
  
She picks herself up from the ground. Dororo looks forward, eyes tracing the lines of the mountain side. She looks at the ruins of the castle and the village left behind in the aftermath. The sky is hazy, the sun partially hidden by the graying clouds.  _ Will it rain? _ she thinks.   
  
Maybe if she hurries, she might catch up to Aniki.   
  
So she runs, runs as fast as she could.   
  
Dororo doesn't know where Aniki's headed, but she runs anyway. Her quick steps grow into leaps and she's fast.  _ Faster, _ she wills herself,  _ hurry. _   
  
It seemed almost like an eternity before she found him.   
  
"Aniki!" she calls him, even in her exhausted state, "Wait up, Aniki!"   
  
_ I don't... I don't want it to end it like this! _   
  
Hyakkimaru stirs from his musings and looks at her, clearly surprised and a bit confused. He looks at her, with clear, expressive brown eyes, and Dororo feels something swell in her heart.   
  
_ Aniki can see now. _   
  
She's really happy for him.   
  
Dororo stops and grabs a part of Aniki's kimono in her small hands. She intakes quick huffs of air, the cold breeze making sweat bead on her brow. Hyakkimaru glances at her worriedly, and she smiles at him.   
  
"I'm okay, just a bit winded is all," she lets out a laugh, breathy and tired. The space between Aniki's eyebrows furrowed together, and he asks,   
  
"Dororo, why?"   
  
_ Why are you here? _

_ Are you going to follow me? _

_ I… don’t want you to follow. _   
  
She understands, she truly does.    
  
Still, she just couldn't help it.   
  
"I'm not really sure myself but," Dororo starts, voice trying to be steady, "you're going, right?"   
  
Hyakkimaru nods.   
  
"I just--- I'm just worried. You're gonna be alone out there again. And," she looks down, face downcast, "I guess I'll be a little lonely without you."   
  
"Dororo," Aniki lowers himself until their eyes meet, "You'll be okay. And I'll be okay too."   
  
"Yeah," tiny pinpricks of wetness form at the corners of her eyes but she wills them to stay there, "I know."   
  
"Please don't be sad. I'll come back." Hyakkimaru places a hand on top of Dororo's head and gently strokes it, "It might take a long time, but we'll see each other again."   
  
"I know we will," Dororo closes their distance, her arms encircling around his neck, placing her head atop his left shoulder, "I'll miss you Aniki," she utters softly, quietly.   
  
"I'll miss you too." His arms wrap around her small frame. Dororo relishes in the warmth, and they stay like that for a little while. Above them, the grey skies disperse slowly into inky purple hues. And then the sun comes out, a distant, brilliant red that paints plumes of warmth upon everything it reaches before being swallowed by the cold of the impending night.   


  
Aniki releases her tentatively, and a thoughtful look crosses his face. Dororo watches as Aniki reaches into the inside of his kimono and pulls out an old, violet pouch with a faded print of the Daigo insignia.   
  
Dororo could only hold her breath in anticipation.   
  
He takes out the smaller green bag of rice seeds inside the pouch and places it onto her palms.   
  
She holds the precious item carefully, tightly in her hands. Her eyes gaze onto Aniki's own and she nods her head. A small smile flits in Aniki's face and he stands up. Replacing the pouch back in his kimono, he takes a step back.   
  
And another.   
  
And with a final, fleeting glance, Hyakkimaru turns around and walks forward, walks ahead to where his feet will take him.   
  
He never takes a look back.   
  
Dororo watches him, continues to watch until he turns into a speck in the distance, until he disappears into the horizon. Clutching the small, green bag close to heart, she exhales and walks away, back to where she came from.   
  
She never takes a look back.  
  
And if there were tears in her eyes, she didn't let anyone see. There’s still something she must do before Aniki returns.

Dororo takes another step and resolve steels itself into her heart.

**Author's Note:**

> i'd drop my twitter account if i were a little less shy but i really can't ;;;;
> 
> also should i just... compile all the dororo stuff in a series or nah idkkk
> 
> thank you so much for reading!! <3


End file.
